A Little NaNoWriMo Humor

I liked this comic strip, especially because I could relate to having written chunks of my NaNoWriMo project on my iPhone. :-)



* Click on the title link for this posting to see more of Inky Girl's comics on writing.

Can Amazon Nuke the Nook? (The Reverse Argument)

O.K. This is a first: writing a flip-side argument to a previous posting. Over the past few days, however, I have been doing an enormous amount of research on both the Kindle 2 and the Nook ("nook"). In other words, the dust has had a chance to settle, and my thinking has shifted a bit since the last posting.

Earlier, I was prepared to anoint nook as the winner without the thing having been released, but looking at both of the e-readers (at least from all of the available info), some things I looked at as pros and cons and switched places. For one, I viewed the wi-fi of nook as an advantage, failing to consider such a thing is not particularly a big deal if there is no browser. Also, I liked the idea of nook being able to read multiple formats, but I have come to find out that that's not as a big a deal to me as I thought it would be. With the pricing of amazon.com's Kindle books being on average noticeably lower than nook, one would have to look to other sites from which to purchase books. It's clear that a customer is likely to get a much better price and better selection from an established online retailer like Amazon, if only because Amazon is in a position to keep its prices low. Basically, Amazon is like the Wal-Mart of e-commerce, and they can afford to be ultra competitive on pricing. And since I don't own any e-books (that I have paid for), I don't have a problem buying my books from one location--especially if that location has the best price in town.

Earlier I mentioned the sexy vs. functional argument. I still think that nook is far sexier than the Kindle 2, but as a matter of personal preference, I do like a device to be as thin and sleek as possible. I do hate that there is not a better selection of cases available for the Kindle, though, but such is life.

The touch screen is definitely a nice look for nook, but at the end of the day, you're still looking at an e-ink screen, so that's not a monster advantage over the Kindle 2.

nook has the ability to play mp3s; Kindle 2 has a text-to-speech function.

I think the thing that stands out the most is a looming question as to how such a thing would ultimately affect Barnes & Noble's business model. The sales of any e-books would essentially cannibalize their existing brick-and-mortar business model; whereas, Amazon stands to benefit with its selling of e-books since they don't have to deal with the warehousing issue, thereby simplifying their own business model to be more efficient. Such an issue could have long-term consequences on the company--and therefore the customer.

Oh yeah, and B&N has decided that they won't honor 10% discount membership cards (that cost $25 annually) on e-books or nook. Amazon's prices are lower and don't require a $25 membership card to get that price, so I guess I won't be renewing my membership card this year.

So I'm still on the fence with an e-book reader, mainly because I know both companies will have to react to the other and make adjustments to really "win" this battle. Ironically, both companies have strengthened another e-book reader in the process: the iPhone. With both apps available for free (and a color screen on which to read them), Apple might have actually played it the right way. After all, formats of files and all of that stuff doesn't matter when you can just close one application and launch another.

Still I feel I'll get a dedicated reader, simply because my eyes can't take reading off a computer screen for too long. Thoughts anyone?

(Re)Kindle Your Reading with a Little Nook(ie)?

In full disclosure, I must reluctantly admit that I have become a bit of a gadget guy, especially since I started using the iPhone. To compound that, I am also a bibliophile with books at home, in my office, and in storage in Mississippi. So clearly I am the target market for anyone looking to sell an e-book reader. But it was only recently that I considered doing so, and it took Barnes & Noble entering the market to nudge me that one step closer to purchasing one.

Rather than rattle off the specs for B&N's nook vs. the specs for Amazon's Kindle 2 (which can be found in one iteration on B&N's own website), I will instead explain why it is that I never bought the Kindle 2. The first time I saw the original Kindle I laughed--aloud. It looked like a giant Etch-a-Sketch made out of Legos. The Kindle 2, while much improved, still looked like a device that was clearly behind the technology. (I probably felt that way because I had been using an iPhone for a while by that time.) The thinness of the device was appealing, as was its ability to hold 1,500 books, but the cost was outrageous and Amazon's policy for dealing with sold books was a bit disappointing. At $349, the device cost far more than my phone and did far less. It did not help matters that Amazon had developed a reputation for pulling purchased books off of people's Kindles and refunding their money.

Then Amazon dropped the price of the Kindle 2 to $299.

Then Amazon dropped the price of the Kindle 2 to $259, it's current price.

The only problem with two price drops in less than a year is that it sends a very clear signal (at least to me) that Amazon doesn't even know the value of its own product. The notion of dropping the price just because it could seems very weak, and if I were an early adopter of the product, I would be pissed. Didn't Amazon learn anything about the fiasco of the price drop with the initial iPhone?

Now B&N enters the market with a "Kindle-Killer" which employs the use of a touch screen, while maintaing the e-ink display--and all for $259, the current price of the Kindle 2. While there are pros and cons to each device, the strongest point to me is the way B&N's device alleges (since the product has yet to be released) to integrate seamlessly with its brick and mortar stores. (Oh yeah, and there's that lending thing, too.) The fact that I could read an e-book for free while sitting in the store, just like I could a regular book, is awesome. I'm also a sucker for coupons on books.

But there's another major difference that pushes me toward the nook over the Kindle 2: sexiness. Although the Kindle 2 is thinner, the marketing and the look of the product are sexier as they relate to the nook. The Kindle 2 comes across as functional, while the nook comes across as, well, sexy. It also helps that the nook reads ePub formatted books.

I could very well wait and see what Microsoft and Apple come up with in the next year or so (if rumors are to be believed), but I have in the meantime become more appreciative of the idea of a dedicated device. I have an iPhone and a laptop, and I'm not sure I need another device that will mimic those capabilities at this point. However, I do carry around an enormous number of books, so I can readily see the simplicity of an e-book reader.

While I didn't consider Sony in this blog entry, I know that the company is doing its "thing" and has followers. However, I use Amazon.com and B&N a lot, so the likelihood of my going with one of their readers, if I were so inclined, would be much higher.

Being a techie/bibliophilic type of guy, I will probably hop off the fence soon and join the ranks of people who profess to actually read more with their e-book readers than they did before.

I welcome the challenge.

While Walking to the Car

I saw this and had to share it. The space was for breast cancer survivors--and all of the drivers at the outlet observed the space, keeping it open.



-- Sent via iPhone

The Ill Professors: Vimeo vs. YouTube (An Observation)

Pop quiz: Which of these sites would you find a video of someone passing gas on a match and nearly killing himself? YouTube or Vimeo? Here’s another one: Which of these sites would you find people looking to engage strictly in artistic creativity and constructive criticism? While some would argue that it depends, the reality is that Vimeo’s community specializes in creating an artistic space that seeks to set itself apart from any other video uploading site.

Just a few years ago, I was a person who watched several TV programs religiously and went to the movies with the frequency of a person who didn’t have a job to go to. Now, I find myself spending more and more time online, and inevitably, I find myself going back to the two above-mentioned websites, but each for different reasons.

With YouTube, I get to watch the great music videos I grew up with. I also get to see Pinky going off on Craig in Next Friday without having to watch the whole movie. In addition to that, I get to see plenty of people embarrass themselves or inflict pain on others all in the name of humor. Sadly, there have been times when I watched a video of someone getting kicked in his family jewels by some kid and replayed it to laugh all over again. Whether a video is serious or for fun, if the comment board is open to the general public, there will be some of the most brutal, sexist, homophobic, racist, and downright ignorant comments anywhere on the Internet. That’s the part that eats me up the most about YouTube—because I accept that people post a lot of mess on there—these cyberbullies who sit in their parents’ basements, hiding behind anonymous handles and ripping everyone and everything to shreds. And that’s exactly why Vimeo is able to survive in today’s Internet video market.

Vimeo is the website for amateur and professional auteurs, people who care about what they post and take the time to consider that they might actually run for office one day and don’t need to have a video of them using the bathroom circulating around in cyberspace. Even the comments left by the majority of the sites participants are overwhelming positive or at the very least constructively critical. In other words, Vimeo is a site for people who enjoy making videos and watching videos that usually underwent some type of non-linear editing.

Why is either site worth mentioning today though? Well, it has become increasingly easier to upload videos to the Internet with the Flip pocket video cameras, the Kodak zi6, and the multitude of other video cameras that will fit in your front pocket and still shoot pretty decent videos. Add to this group the iPhone 3GS and the Nokia N95, and now you don’t even have to carry around anything other than your phone and still get footage to upload.

So if anyone is pointing a cell phone in your direction and you’re looking like a hot mess, you can guess which site you’ll be starring on.

Revisiting a Childhood Toy

It's funny what you remember when you confront a toy you haven't played with in over twenty years. My little cousin Cori counted me off as I tried to see how fast I could make a ball out of the snake. I'm sure there are others who do it much quicker, but I was just happy that I didn't tie my fingers up in that thing. :-)

The Ill Professors: District 9 and Race

To say that District 9 is another alien movie is to say that True Blood is another television show about vampires. I don’t really know what I had expected to see when my wife and I went to watch the movie, but I’m not sure I was prepared for what I saw.

Before I get into my own thoughts, I have to address the range of responses that I have heard so far coming from African Americans and Africans. Many people were just blatantly offended by the film. Even though the trailer pretty much laid everything out there, in terms of the alien persecution, people were still surprised. I guess when confronted with a group of downtrodden people who are quarantined to a ghetto, black people feel an immediate connection with the oppression presented onscreen. We are even quick to call ever outcast a symbol for the black struggle, even though the term “ghetto” didn’t even originate with black people.

Even more, I have heard people say that because the aliens looked like roaches and were called “prawns,” a derogatory word from the film, they felt that they were being expressly targeted. I find this last bit of information to be a bit absurd. Granted, there are some stereotypes every ethnic group would own for personal benefit (like the ability to dance or sexually perform), owning the stereotype of associating black people with roaches makes me wonder just how people view themselves. I would have never seen the relationship between myself and a roach, nor would I have expected any other thinking person to own something so offensive and ridiculous.

I can understand the need to relate to the underdog, and I am not so jaded as to think that a persecuted minority group can’t feel a sense of connection to the struggles of the alien race presented in the film. I do, however, think that because the story takes place in South Africa, it picks up the added cultural baggage and required analysis, although the aliens could have struck a chord with any oppressed group, not just black people. Another fascinating element about the film is that there are both black and white South Africans working to oppress this group. This could easily be interpreted by some to be an illustration of European imperialism and how black people were used to oppress other black people—but to do that, you would have to assume that black people were the aliens, which depending on your racial frame of reference, is not a given.

If one stepped back and thought about it, there are some Christian references in the film, as well. For example, the main alien we get to know is Christopher (like Christ). He is basically the savior of his race of people and the only one who can take his son home. Without giving out any spoilers, one can see Christopher’s persecution first hand, while seeing even those of his kind moving about aimlessly, with no sense of what’s going on around them, although their space ship seems to be moving.

Then there’s the idea of a human bloodline being tainted with alien DNA, giving a huge science fiction spin to the idea of Plessy v. Ferguson. So yes, I do believe that there are some correlations between the treatment of the aliens in this film and the treatment of oppressed minorities in the world. This is not something exclusive to black people though. What makes this film particularly provocative is how the story allows people to sympathize and even empathize with an alien race, not necessarily because of race correlations, but mainly because of a sense of what is right and wrong in terms of how we treat others, which is a far more fundamental idea that’s less sensational than a straight-up racial analysis. The film holds a mirror to the human race, and we all ultimately see what we want to see, good or bad.

* To read more, click here or visit www.illprofessors.com.